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| Politics: Worst tumult to remember | | | Nirbhay Jammual
Jammu | Dec 23
Some described it as the politics of convenience other termed the politics of compulsion. Whatever description one may choose, but the year 2007 remained as the year of political tumult for Jammu and Kashmir.
The year began at a high political note as the budget session was advanced to January instead of the routine February-March calendar. The Opposition National Conference which was seen more as a friend of the Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad during the previous assembly sessions was not all the same.
With the beginning of the assembly session, the National Conference took on the government from the front nailing the dispensation on a variety of issues including the developmental slogans and the human rights scenario. As if the handling of the opposition was not enough that crisis emerged within the government.
Even though the Peoples Democratic Party and the Congress were not enjoying the same warmth after taking over of Ghulam Nabi Azad as Chief Minister in November 2005, but in January 2007 the things fell out clearly.
The Peoples Democratic Party, particularly its top leaders Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Mehbooba had been asking for demilitarization –something irking the Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. Even though the Chief Minister had rebuked the demand on many occasions earlier but in February things took critical turn.
Chief Minister was irked by the repeated statements of the PDP president Mehbooba Mufti who was then on a tour of Rajouri Poonch region. Every day she would make a statement asking the state and central government to cut down the troops. If the demands were not met, Mehbooba in her every statement subtly threatened to pull PDP out of the government.
While speaking in the legislative assembly the Chief Minister dared the advocates of demilitarization to shun their personal security first and then talk of demilitarization. As it there was a conflict already in making, the PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed offered to surrender his personal security thus putting the Chief Minister in a piquant situation. Mufti's offer was followed by all of his partymen. In one go they shunned their security cover. Even though the gesture was more symbolic in nature but it made things difficult for the Chief Minister as assembly was still in the session.
While the Chief Minister was yet to take recourse on the new emerging situation that the leader of the PDP's legislature party and Minister of Agriculture Abdul Aziz Zargar wrote a letter to the Chief Minister that the Ministers from his party will not attend the cabinet meetings till the demilitarization was not listed on the agenda for discussion.
Even though the Chief Minister went ahead to convene the cabinet meetings to discuss various routine things but the PDP Ministers kept away. There arrived an imminent danger to the stability of the government. Every day came in with a new surprise. The Congress leaders too upped their ante against the coalition partner PDP but things did not work immediately.
It was only on the intervention of the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the situation was resolved for the time being and some order of the semblance was restored. The Prime Minister announced constitution of three committees to look into the issue: the PDP got a face saver the government got a temporary breather.
The months of ensuing summer passed off with a relative calm. But with the onset of the autumn another controversy took the government heads on. The Chief Minister revoked the Forest charge of PDP's cabinet Minister Qazi Mohammad Afzal. Qazi did not take this seriously till he realized that what exactly has happened with him. Qazi resigned from the cabinet. This lead to a war of words between the PDP and the Chief Minister. However, entire this war was played through the media by issuing statements and counter-statements. Once again the government appeared at the brink of collapse.
Of late the PDP realized that the going without the Congress was not politically feasible for remaining in power beyond present term of the assembly. The by-elections to the Poonch assembly constituency came in as a courtesy from the PDP to the Congress. PDP decided not to field its candidate and Congress got the signal of rapprochement.
A little later, the Chief Minister's father-in-law passed away. Mufti called on Azad for condolence and marked a fresh beginning of renewed relations. Five days later Azad called on Mufti and the bonhomie was back. As we step into the New Year, the PDP and the Congress now appear arm-in-arm. |
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